Louvered doors



P. B. LIEBER LOUVERED DOORS Dec. 18, 1962 Filed Feb. 25, 1957 United States Patent Ofltiee 3,6853% Patented Dec. 18, 13-62 3,068,536 LOUVERED DOQRS Philip Ben Lieber, 1166 E. Kingshighway, Shreveport, La. Filed Feb. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 641,997 2 Claims. (Cl. 20-65) The invention pertains generally to doors, but more in particular to a vision-proof louvered door wherein the louver construction permits a paneling or veneer to be applied to the side surfaces without the use of anchor moldings.

In the prior art of this type, the louver construction usually consists in a pre-formed design arranged to be fitted into the louver opening and held in such position by holdings placed around the marginal edges of the louver. Such is common practice, especially where glass panels areemployed. Even in ventilated louver construction moldings are used to anchor the louver design in the louver opening. It is understandable, therefore, What difliculty is to be encountered when the faces of the door are to be covered with a veneer. Th moldings must be removed and adjusted to allow for the additional thickness of the veneer. Many small and intricate pieces of the veneer must be cut and fitted into Position, leaving numerous, unsightly joints.

With the architectural trend toward modernism and the effect of straight lines and plain, flat surfaces, a louvered door of the prior art is not quite in keeping with the rest of the motif.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a vision-proof louvered door wherein the louver construction permits veneering both side faces of the door without the necessity of anchor moldings.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a louvered door wherein the stripping constituting the louver proper lend themselves to mass production and consequently to a finished door of cheaper cost to the consumer.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a louvered door wherein the door is completely covered with a sheet of material known by the tradename of Formica-a smooth, hard material excellently suited for its appearance and wearing qualities. The finished door is not only useful in character, but also employs straight lines and smooth, flat surfaces so commonly used now in architectural designs.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description when viewed together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a door made according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional View similar to that of FIG. 2 but showing the method of routing the veneer material after it has been applied to the door.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the position of the louver spacer members with respect to the final position of the louver opening.

FIG. 5 is also a fragmentary view in isometric showing a portion of the louver members in exploded form.

In FIG. 1 of the drawing, numeral designates the door generally, which is shown completely finished with veneer on all surfaces and ready for the application of the door hardware.

In FIG. 3 the construction of the louver portion of the door is more clearly seen. The louver opening 11 in the present instance, consists of that area between the two side rails 12 of the door and the top rail 13 and for any predetermined length downwardly. The pieces of the louver proper consist in an upper bar 14, a lower bar 15, intermediate bars 16, and spacer bars 17. The thickness of all of the bars and stop members are of such dimension so that when in position their side faces are coplanar and parallel with the side faces of the door proper as illustrated in FIG. 2.

I The top bar 14 has a fiat top surface 18 adapted to lie in juxaposition with the bottom face of the top rail 13 of the door. The underside of the top bar has an inverted V-shaped configuration 19 formed centrally along its length. Each intermediate bar 16 is substantially of an inverted l-shaped configuration in cross section with a narrow side exposure 20 which lies coplanar with the door faces. Each of the stop members 17 is formed identically as that of an intermediate bar 16; in fact, these are simply cut from the same length of pre-formed material. Such construction allows the several pieces to be formed of a single length of wood and to be cut to any predetermined length for any given louver opening.

While the illustration of FIG. 5 shows the several louver pieces in an exploded view, the view in FIG. 2 illustrates the invention after all of the several pieces are in their final position in the louver opening. Beneath the top rail 13 of the .door, is the top bar 14 of the louver section. Fitted into the inverted V of the top bar is a stop member 17; then an intermediate bar 16, then a stop bar 17. This succession continues toward the bottom bar 15. Each member of the louver section is glued one to the other and the entire assembly is fitted and glued into the louver opening 11. It will be remembered that the angle of the chevron-shaped members is unimportant except that the angle should be made with respect to the door thickness so that it will be impossible to see through the openings left between any of the spaced, intermediate bars 16.

FIG. 2 also shows a veneer 21 applied to the surfaces of the door. In this illustration the veneer has been applied after setting the louver section into position. Since the openings are to be routed out in a later operation, the applying of the veneer becomes a relatively simple matter. As pointed out earlier in the specification, the veneer used in the present instnace is a plastic sheet material known by the trade-name of Formica. The material has a hard, glazed surface and is excellent material for use as counter tops and the like. It may be obtained in many colors commonly used in interior decorating Work.

It will be noted the simplicity with which the louver is both made and installed. After installation, any color of the veneer material may be applied over all surfaces of the .door according to a predetermined color scheme. Theer are no projecting moldings on the door and no objectionable mitering work required of the workman.

When the veneering is completed a routing tool is used to rout the thin veneer from over the covered louver in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. The routing bit is one common to the cabinet maker and consists in a spherical head 22 and a cylindrical shank 23. Set into the shank 23 is a routing blade 24, the cutting plane of which lies on a line tangent to the spherical head. The routing tool may be used as in the manner of a drill or a milling cutter. To use the tool, a hole is drilled through the veneer sheet and into the area between two of the intermediate louver bars 16. The spherical head of the routing tool is inserted into the hole and is used as a guide or pilot to guide the cutting blade 24 along the inner faces of the louver slits. When both sides of the door are thus routed out, the door will assume the appearance of FIG. 1 with the louvered section appearing as if it were an integral part of the door and with no unsightly moldings projecting on either side.

FIG. 4 is given to show how the glued-on veneer laps over the sides of the stop members 17, thus lending additional support both to the louver section and the entire door. 7

Such a door as described above is highly advantageous in modern OfiiCG buildings where air conditioning systems require louvered doors. The doors may also be used to great advantage in hospitals since they are vision-proof and yet louvered for the passing of air. Moreover, in the absence of any projecting moldings, the door is much easier to clean, especially since it is covered with a water and acid-proof veneer.

Other changes might be made in the actual construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claimi 1. A door comprising a basic skeleton framework, a louver opening, a four-member louver assembly consisting of an upper slat, a bottom slat, spacer slats and intermediate slats, each of said slat members comprising warpable material substantially V-shaped in cross section and of a thickness corresponding to the skeleton frame thickness of said door, said members arranged in nested fashion in said louver opening with said intermediate slats spaced from each other by a spacer slat to provide elongated openings therebetween, a flat sheet of veneer material glued to and covering both faces of said door and said slat members, and elongated openings in said veneer sheets corresponding to the elongated openings between said slat members.

2. In a door having a basic core with a louver opening, a louver assembly comprising a multiplicity of slats of warpable material arranged in nested fashion, spacer members between said slats, said louver assembly being set into the louver opening provided in said door core, the outside faces of said slats forming said louver lying in a plane with the outside faces of said core, both faces of said core and said louver assembly being covered with a unitary sheet veneer material bondedthereto openings provided in said veneer covering material for said louver assembly, said openings conforming in exact and matching relationship with the openings between said slats forming said louver assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 937,430 Evans- Oct. 19, 1909 2,328,761 Wamnes Sept. 7, 1943 2,509,016 Peterson May 23, 1950 2,705,032 7 Pearson Mar. 29, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 192,789 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1937 

